Our next reading takes place on January 21, when we’ll dive into Beverley Cooper’s play “Innocence Lost”. The reading begins at 2pm, so please arrive by 1:45pm if you’d like a chance to read.
To request a digital copy of the script, please email ashton@masseytheatre.com. In an effort to reduce waste, we will be limiting paper copies.
ABOUT INNOCENCE LOST
In 1959 in rural Ontario, Canada, a 12-year-old girl named Lynne Harper was found raped and strangled to death. Within days her 14-year-old classmate Steven Truscott was charged with her murder. After a two week trial Steven was deemed guilty and sentenced to hang. Thus began the story that enflamed the community, the country and the world. This true story is looked at through the eyes of the fictional character of Sarah, a fellow classmate of Steven and Lynne’s as she deals with her own loss of innocence, her world turned upside down and a personal journey to find truth and justice. The play examines the nature of community and how good people make bad choices. Finalist for the 2009 Governor General’s Award for Fiction.
ABOUT BEVERLY COOPER
Beverley Cooper is an award-winning playwright, dramaturge and teacher. She has written for TV, film and extensively for CBC radio drama, twice being nominated for Writers’ Guild of Canada Awards. Her plays have been produced widely across Canada. They include Thin Ice (co-written with Banuta Rubess, Chalmers/Dora Award), Clue in the Fast Lane (co-written with Ann-Marie MacDonald), The Eyes of Heaven, The Lonely Diner, Janet Wilson Meets the Queen (nominated for Prix Rideau Award) and If Truth Be Told. Innocence Lost: A Play about Steven Truscott was a sold out hit at the Blyth Festival in both 2008 and 2009, finalist for the 2009 Governor General’s Literary Award, was on the Globe and Mail bestseller list, a first for a Canadian playwright, and has had highly acclaimed productions at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, The Centaur Theatre in Montreal and Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto. In the summer of 2024, she had two premieres of her plays: The Trials of Maggie Pollock (the Blyth Festival) and Jim Watts: Girl Reporter (4th Line Theatre). Her newest play, Humour Me just had a sold-out run at Here for Now Theatre in Stratford.
Reading Theatre is created for those with a passion for live theatre. A live play reading of iconic plays over the ages. All are welcome and encouraged — from the seasoned professional to the inquisitive amateur and everyone in between.
Show up and read, or listen to others read these incredible shows. A short discussion may take place…or not. This is an event led by the cast and audience.
Readers will be chosen just before the play reading begins and will be cast by those who show up and express an interest in being involved. Some roles may be double cast.
This event is being led by Allan Morgan, Senior Artist in Residence and Vancouver theatre scene stalwart. We’d love to see you there!
ABOUT ALLAN MORGAN
Allan has been a stage actor for more than thirty years. Some highlights include appearing in London, GB, Adelaide Australia, Wellington NZ and San Francisco, all with The Overcoat. He appeared for several seasons at Bard on the Beach, notably in The Tempest as Prospero, as well as King John, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing.
He has toured across Canada with the Electric Company in Studies in Motion. He has appeared at The Belfry, notably in The Drawer Boy, Dirty Blonde, and I am My Own Wife for which he received the Victoria Critic’s Award for best performance. Other favourites include Red, Thinking of Yu, and Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre for ATP in Calgary.
Allan has two solo plays: I Walked the Line; and Pride: for the young gay, the ungay and the jaded queen in all of us.
